Monk - General Discussion

[shapeshifter]

Today's weekly Monk marathon on H&I included 4.8 "Mr. Monk and Little Monk."
I've always been impressed by how the young teen actor who played young Monk had obviously studied and copied the mannerisms that Tony Shalhoub uses for Monk. 
He is played by Grant Rosenmeyer, who recently played a character named Jason in Crazy Ex-Girlfriend -- a show which I've only watched a few minutes of -- but perhaps others would know him.

Edited August 1, 2019 by shapeshifter
spelling

[andromeda331]

4 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Today's weekly Monk marathon on H&I included 4.8 "Mr. Monk and Little Monk."
I've always been impressed by how the young teen actor who played young Monk had obviously studied and copied the mannerisms that Tony Shalhoub uses for Monk. 
He is played by Grant Rosenmeyer, who recently played a character named Jason in Crazy Ex-Girlfriend -- a show which I've only watched a few minutes of -- but perhaps others would know him.

So am I. That would not be an easy role to play for someone so young. He did an excellent job.

[LexieLily]

3.7, Mr. Monk and the Employee of the Month. Monk accidentally stepped on a corner of the bubble wrap so some of the bubbles popped which of course means Monk has to pick up the whole piece and start to pop all the bubbles. Sharona tells him to leave it alone and to focus, but a few seconds later Stottlemeyer comes over and asks Monk do we really have to pop all of these (or something to that effect) and not only does Stottlemeyer start popping the bubbles too but he calls over two other officers to help him and Monk do the same.

I thought it was sweet. 

Same episode, when Monk voluntarily shook his former cop partner's hand and didn't need a wipe after, even after being asked if he did.

Edited August 2, 2019 by LexieLily

[shapeshifter]

4 hours ago, LexieLily said:

Stottlemeyer comes over and asks Monk do we really have to pop all of these (or something to that effect) and not only does Stottlemeyer start popping the bubbles too but he calls over two other officers to help him and Monk do the same.

 I thought it was sweet. 

The first few episodes of the series had Sottlemeyer be very antagonist toward Monk. I'm glad they evolved into supportive friends. 

I had thought maybe they swapped Sharona for Natalie becaused they wanted a more supportive assistant as well, but now I see that Natalie started out more antagonistic too.

I guess it's just a fictional trope.

[LexieLily]

Was the contract negotiations between Bitty Schram and the show especially contentious before she left? Because I just watched Natalie's first episode (Mr. Monk and the Red Herring) and besides the fact that Sharona's departure only warranted a five minute scene with Monk and Kroger, the reasoning didn't make sense. Sharona hated her ex-husband and seemed to fully see him for what he was. The Sharona I've been binge-watching for the first two and a half seasons wouldn't uproot her life and her son, not to mention leave Monk with little warning, to move back to New Jersey and re-marry her ex.

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, LexieLily said:

Was the contract negotiations between Bitty Schram and the show especially contentious before she left?

If so, the details weren't noised around social media like would happen today.

[LexieLily]

10 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

If so, the details weren't noised around social media like would happen today.

I only asked because of the way they wrote her out, like they had to make up a reason on the fly. 

[shlbycindyk]

I'm so glad that Amazon Prime now has Monk because after reading all of these comments I just had to watch him again!  

My most favorite episodes are Mr. Monk And The Rapper, I loved how he'd black out and agree to anything they asked, and Mr. Monk And The Red Haired Stranger.  I especially liked it when he asked Willie Nelson what he was smelling and he told him he didn't smell anything. 

The only episodes I really didn't like were the ones with Dale the Whale.  

[shapeshifter]

14 minutes ago, shlbycindyk said:

I'm so glad that Amazon Prime now has Monk because after reading all of these comments I just had to watch him again!  

My most favorite episodes are Mr. Monk And The Rapper, I loved how he'd black out and agree to anything they asked, and Mr. Monk And The Red Haired Stranger.  I especially liked it when he asked Willie Nelson what he was smelling and he told him he didn't smell anything. 

The only episodes I really didn't like were the ones with Dale the Whale.  

*high 5* @shlbycindyk!
I agree with all of the above.

I didn't realize it's on Prime. Good to know!

I wonder if all these streaming services will ever find it worth while to have discussion boards for episodes of shows they offer. It would be cool if they included links to discussions here, on Reddit, etc. 
As a recently retired Web Services Librarian, I could totally spearhead this. </pipe_dream>

[LexieLily]

There's a Monk forum on reddit?

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, LexieLily said:

There's a Monk forum on reddit?

Probably?

[Googles Monk TV show site:Reddit.com]

Yep: https://www.reddit.com/r/Monk/

Edited August 8, 2019 by shapeshifter

[LexieLily]

On 7/25/2019 at 12:04 PM, shapeshifter said:

"Mr. Monk vs. the Cobra" just aired. It's the second Natalie episode. I guess we're okay with them retconning her financial/family situation? Or maybe we just fanwank it.

What part did they retcon?

[shapeshifter]

35 minutes ago, LexieLily said:

What part did they retcon?

Early on Natalie was a financially struggling, widowed single mother. Later it was revealed that she was heiress to a toothpaste fortune.

[Ailianna]

And when it was revealed that she was from a toothpaste fortune family, it was also revealed that she had had an estrangement from them, and took no money or other support from them.  So not a ret con, but more fleshing out.

[LexieLily]

4 hours ago, Ailianna said:

And when it was revealed that she was from a toothpaste fortune family, it was also revealed that she had had an estrangement from them, and took no money or other support from them.  So not a ret con, but more fleshing out.

That could explain why Natalie spent the majority of her second episodes insisting that Monk reimburse her for expenses. 

I thought when I heard that Sharona got a raw deal not being reimbursed. But maybe Sharona was hired moreso as a nurse and not an assistant? Monk mentioned in Natalie's first episode an agency, so was Sharona sent from there?

[catlover79]

On 8/9/2019 at 11:28 AM, LexieLily said:

But maybe Sharona was hired moreso as a nurse and not an assistant? 

Yes, Sharona started out as Monk's nurse. I think she was brought in almost immediately after Trudy's death.

[LexieLily]

4 hours ago, catlover79 said:

Yes, Sharona started out as Monk's nurse. I think she was brought in almost immediately after Trudy's death.

The show started five or six years after Trudy's murder, didn't it? Monk said that he was pretty much homebound the first three and a half years after the killing.  

[catlover79]

Just now, LexieLily said:

The show started five or six years after Trudy's murder, didn't it? Monk said that he was pretty much homebound the first three and a half years after the killing.  

Trudy was killed in December 1997, and the show began in July 2002.

[LexieLily]

21 minutes ago, catlover79 said:

Trudy was killed in December 1997, and the show began in July 2002.

So Sharona was with Monk for awhile. 

[catlover79]

@LexieLily, you should get this book:

[LexieLily]

Thanks for the recommendation, @catlover79! Do you have it? I'll check it out 🙂

I'm almost finished with season three and Natalie has been with Monk for five or six episodes by now. I like her more than I thought I would even though as of now I still miss Sharona. I do have to admit I miss how Sharona always called him Adrian, does Natalie ever get to that place or does she always call him Mr. Monk?

[shapeshifter]

3 hours ago, LexieLily said:

I do have to admit I miss how Sharona always called him Adrian, does Natalie ever get to that place or does she always call him Mr. Monk?

Maybe? I'm not sure. Let us know in which episode(s) Natalie calls him "Adrian" if you catch it!

Edited August 13, 2019 by shapeshifter
Clarity

[LexieLily]

What are everyone's favorite episodes and why? I'm curious.

[LexieLily]

On 7/21/2019 at 9:51 AM, shapeshifter said:

Reading this succinct recap, it just occurred to me that the episode ends with the message that a parent gives up a child out of love —and not because the parent doesn't want the child —which is often the premise and conclusion reached by adoptees on fictional TV episodes (that the parent/birth mother didn't want the child). 
With Tony Shaloub being an adoptive parent himself, this increases the sweetness factor of this episode to sky high.

This same message is conveyed in the episode in which Monk adopts the dog.

❤️💕💓

I just watched Mr. Monk and the Kid tonight. For all of Monk's phobias about grass and the ground and "nature dirty!" the ending scene where Monk was rolling around in the grass with little Tommy before he gave him up made me want to cry. 

[andromeda331]

24 minutes ago, LexieLily said:

I just watched Mr. Monk and the Kid tonight. For all of Monk's phobias about grass and the ground and "nature dirty!" the ending scene where Monk was rolling around in the grass with little Tommy before he gave him up made me want to cry. 

That scene always makes me cry. 

[LexieLily]

9 minutes ago, andromeda331 said:

That scene always makes me cry. 

Wanting to adopt him was a major life-committment Monk decided pretty much on the spur of the moment. I would have liked to think Monk would have risen to the occasion and done well, with major assistance from Natalie, Julie, Dr. Kroger and even Stottlemeyer for advice, but ultimately he made the right decision. 

[shapeshifter]

23 hours ago, LexieLily said:

What are everyone's favorite episodes and why? I'm curious.

The previous page has quite a few lists. 

Which are your favorites, @LexieLily?

[LexieLily]

6 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

Which are your favorites, @LexieLily?

I've only made it through season three so I've still got a ways to go in my binge-watching.

Mr. Monk Takes A Vacation - the forever-disappearing body.

Mr. Monk and the Three Pies - Just because of Ambrose.

Mr. Monk Takes Manhattan - mostly for the ending scene when Monk confronts the man that was hired to build the bomb that killed Trudy. "This is me, turning off your morphine." *waits a minute or two as he suffers* "And this is Trudy, the woman you killed, turning it back on."

Mr. Monk and the Girl Who Cried Wolf - Now that I know she was only for that one episode, I can look back and see that the woman Sharona hired to take care of Monk was hysterical. 

Mr. Monk Takes His Medicine - "You're bringing the Monk down!"

Mr. Monk and the Red Herring - where we first meet Natalie and Julie. 

Mr. Monk Gets Cabin Fever - Now that I know Randy and Sharona get together in the end, I made a half-joke that maybe the way it happens is that they can both commiserate about their crappy dating records. 

Mr. Monk and the Kid - Loved Monk's sweet interaction with that little boy.

[LexieLily]

I hope I'm not taking over the forum, but I just saw Mr. Monk Goes Home Again (second appearance of Ambrose!) and I had a question about the end with the letter on the front door of Ambrose's house from their dad. Were we supposed to take that at face value that it was actually a note from their dad, or a note written by Monk (or dictated by Monk) to make Ambrose happy?

[shapeshifter]

8 hours ago, LexieLily said:

I hope I'm not taking over the forum, but I just saw Mr. Monk Goes Home Again (second appearance of Ambrose!) and I had a question about the end with the letter on the front door of Ambrose's house from their dad. Were we supposed to take that at face value that it was actually a note from their dad, or a note written by Monk (or dictated by Monk) to make Ambrose happy?

Nothing I've observed the character of Monk doing would lead me to believe that he would write a fake note -- whether to make Ambrose feel better, or even for a case. 
However, I suppose Natalie might, although that never occurred to me.

[LexieLily]

3 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Nothing I've observed the character of Monk doing would lead me to believe that he would write a fake note -- whether to make Ambrose feel better, or even for a case. 

However, I suppose Natalie might, although that never occurred to me.

Unfortunately, watching Monk and shows like it tend to make me suspicious! 

[christie]

20 hours ago, LexieLily said:

I hope I'm not taking over the forum, but I just saw Mr. Monk Goes Home Again (second appearance of Ambrose!) and I had a question about the end with the letter on the front door of Ambrose's house from their dad. Were we supposed to take that at face value that it was actually a note from their dad, or a note written by Monk (or dictated by Monk) to make Ambrose happy?

Wow, I've seen that episode a few times and it never occurred to me that the note might be fake 🤔 Since you've only seen upto season three and I'm referring to something in season five, I'm gonna put the rest under a spoiler tag

Spoiler

Of course we hadn't met the father yet but, after meeting him in season five, I highly doubt that he came back at all. I don't remember all the details but, from what I remember, he didn't show any remorse or regret over leaving and, if I remember correctly, he only contacted Monk 'cause he was in trouble. So, now I think that the note was a fake and, as @shapeshifter said, probably written by Natalie.

Edited August 16, 2019 by christie

[LexieLily]

I peeked under the spoiler tag, @christie. Do we see Ambrose again in that episode?

[christie]

13 minutes ago, LexieLily said:

I peeked under the spoiler tag, @christie. Do we see Ambrose again in that episode?

No we don't. 

[LexieLily]

58 minutes ago, christie said:

No we don't. 

I hope he shows up again before the series ended. I like him and he explains a lot about Monk. His crush on Natalie was unexpected but somehow sweet. 

[Door County Cherry]

Hi everyone.  It's great that you'd like to be considerate but Monk has been off the air for almost a decade (omg, I feel so old).  Please don't use spoiler tags when discussing it.  

A simple mention of the episode you're discussing will be enough to let a reader know whether or not they'd like to read your post or skip over it.

Thank you!

[christie]

19 hours ago, LexieLily said:

I hope he shows up again before the series ended. I like him and he explains a lot about Monk. His crush on Natalie was unexpected but somehow sweet. 

Yes, we do see him again. I also like Ambrose.

[LexieLily]

On 8/13/2019 at 12:13 AM, shapeshifter said:

Maybe? I'm not sure. Let us know in which episode(s) Natalie calls him "Adrian" if you catch it!

The first one I found is the one where Monk gets drunk at the inn where he and Trudy went on their honeymoon and he goes back every year. (Side note: Monk - actually pretty successfully - giving the summation while wasted was hysterical.) Stottlemeyer helps get a sleeping Monk into Natalie's car, buckles his seat-belt and puts the blanket around him and when he (Stottlemeyer) leaves, Natalie says "Happy anniversary, Adrian. I'm sorry I didn't believe you."

Edited August 19, 2019 by LexieLily

[Mikita]

On 8/15/2019 at 9:17 PM, christie said:

On 8/15/2019 at 12:55 AM, LexieLily said:

I hope I'm not taking over the forum, but I just saw Mr. Monk Goes Home Again (second appearance of Ambrose!) and I had a question about the end with the letter on the front door of Ambrose's house from their dad. Were we supposed to take that at face value that it was actually a note from their dad, or a note written by Monk (or dictated by Monk) to make Ambrose happy?

Wow, I've seen that episode a few times and it never occurred to me that the note might be fake 🤔 Since you've only seen upto season three and I'm referring to something in season five, I'm gonna put the rest under a spoiler tag

  Hide contents

Of course we hadn't met the father yet but, after meeting him in season five, I highly doubt that he came back at all. I don't remember all the details but, from what I remember, he didn't show any remorse or regret over leaving and, if I remember correctly, he only contacted Monk 'cause he was in trouble. So, now I think that the note was a fake and, as @shapeshifter said, probably written by Natalie.

Having just watched Mr. Monk Goes Home Again, Natalie did not write that note. Everyone rushed Ambrose to the hospital because they thought that he was dying from the poisoned candy bar. They were returning from the hospital when they found the note on the door. When exactly would Natalie have posted the note on the door? There is no way she did it during an emergency trip to the hospital. I also don't believe that the Jack that we met would ever have returned. I simply think that it was a retcon or the writers simply forgot about it when they wrote the character in his only appearance. That guy would never have returned.

[shapeshifter]

The note from Jack always seemed almost supernatural to me.

Anyway....

6.1 "Mr. Monk and His Biggest Fan" is airing with Sarah Silverman as Marci Maven. I'm wondering what it would have been like if they'd had another Marci Maven episode in which Marci decided she was Natalie's biggest fan.
  
  
  

6.2 "Mr. Monk and the Rapper" is really great watching it 12 (!) years later. I love Snoop's version of the theme song (that's really him, right?), and I enjoy a lot of the rapper scat talk, especially like this bit from Murderuss to Monk:

Quote

Dog, you are not relaxed! You got to be the most uptight little puppy I ever met. I bet if I put a lump of coal in your butt and let it sit there for ten minutes, I could get a diamond out of it. 

Edited August 22, 2019 by shapeshifter

[christie]

Today I saw Monk and the buried treasure (6.6). Admitedly this is not one of my favourite episodes. I liked the casting of Toby McMains as Dr Kroger's son - to me, he looked like he could have been Stanley Kamel's son. I could totally relate with Monk freaking out when the car was buried. As always, I love the scenes between Dr Kroger and Monk; the last scene was very cute. 

[catlover79]

On 8/13/2019 at 12:59 AM, LexieLily said:

Thanks for the recommendation, @catlover79! Do you have it? I'll check it out 🙂

I don't own it, but I've checked it out of my local library a few times.

[LexieLily]

1 hour ago, catlover79 said:

I don't own it, but I've checked it out of my local library a few times.

Do you remember if there was anything worth noting or quoting in there?

I thought Mr. Monk and Mrs. Monk was so sad, especially because at the beginning of the episode you saw how happy (by Monk standards) he was becoming and how he was at least attempting to take steps to move past the biggest part of his grief. And then it all got shot to hell because of the union guy and the actress paid to be Trudy. 

[catlover79]

Here's a link that can give you better info than I can. Sadly, the book was written while the show was in its fourth season and never updated.

http://www.eviltwinltd.com/Monk/episode.htm

[LexieLily]

1 hour ago, catlover79 said:

Here's a link that can give you better info than I can. Sadly, the book was written while the show was in its fourth season and never updated.

http://www.eviltwinltd.com/Monk/episode.htm

It was interesting to read that Mr. Monk Takes Manhattan was apparently one of the episodes that was least well-received. 

[shapeshifter]

5 hours ago, LexieLily said:

It was interesting to read that Mr. Monk Takes Manhattan was apparently one of the episodes that was least well-received. 

Eh, TV tie-in books tend to be poorly edited, researched, and referenced, unless they are produced by fans devoted to that particular series —and then objectivity can go out the window.  But the LA Times praised the 3rd season's opener episode (https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-jun-18-et-robert18-story.html). 

[blondiec0332]

6 hours ago, LexieLily said:

It was interesting to read that Mr. Monk Takes Manhattan was apparently one of the episodes that was least well-received. 

I liked the NYC episode. I liked any episode that all four leads together. As mentioned in another post Monk choosing not to kill the guy who made the bomb that killed Trudy was a really good scene.

I know the who killed Trudy mystery took up a lot of the show and had some head scratching twists and turns (hated anything to do with Dale) but I thought the resolution was well done.

[LexieLily]

3 hours ago, blondiec0332 said:

I liked the NYC episode. I liked any episode that all four leads together. As mentioned in another post Monk choosing not to kill the guy who made the bomb that killed Trudy was a really good scene.

I know the who killed Trudy mystery took up a lot of the show and had some head scratching twists and turns (hated anything to do with Dale) but I thought the resolution was well done.

The scene where Monk wanted a few minutes alone with the bomb-creator (as well as Stottlemeyer touching Monk's hand for support on his way out the door and Monk barely noticing and not objecting) is one of my favorite scenes of the series thus far. 

[Bastet]

I don't remember why I hated the Manhattan episode, but I distinctly remember that I did.  Oh, wait - wasn't there a scene with Monk on the street that went on forever?  That was one reason.

[LexieLily]

One of the things I've picked up on the show so far and I like is, when it gets down to it, how accepting Stottlemeyer is of Monk's OCD and how he does what he can do to make it okay for Monk. Like in Mr. Monk and the Captain's Marriage in the junkyard, when Monk couldn't focus because there was only one car headlight that was working while all the others were out, Stottlemeyer simply took out his gun and shot out the headlight so it was all now "even."

Edited August 25, 2019 by LexieLily